"Dean, I swear to all that is holy, if you do not pick up that phone and call Cas, I will physically drag you to his dorm," Sam shouted.

"He lives on campus?" Dean asked.

"Oh, for the love of—" Sam said, frustrated, "He lives in Balthazar's dorm most of the time unless they are doing a floor inspection. Then, he lives with Benny for a few days while Garth and Balthazar pass inspection. How the hell are you guys friends if you don't know this, Dean? Jesus."

Sam shoved Dean onto the couch and pushed him down again when he protested. He held out a phone to his brother, which Dean, of course, refused to take.

"Don't make me dial for you," he threatened.

"I can't talk to him."

"Then, tell me what happened so I can help," Sam pleaded.

The doorbell rang. Dean started to get up when Sam stopped him. Like hell Dean was escaping because someone wanted to be buzzed in. He threw the phone at Dean. This was really getting ridiculous.

"Stay put," Sam said, "This is not over."

Sam pressed the intercom without taking his eyes off of his brother. Dean glared at him from the couch but he didn't care. What the hell had happened between Dean and Cas? It wasn't often that his brother got so stubborn Sam had to prepare to tackle him to the ground if he tried to get up. And even though Sam was at the intercom by the door didn't mean he wasn't ready to take Dean down in a moment's notice.

"Hello?" he said into the speaker.

"Hey, it's Gabe," was the reply. Sam's breath caught slightly.

Dean laughed, "Oh, yeah. This is definitely over. I'll leave you to it." Sam buzzed Gabe in and shoved Dean back on the couch.

"No, it's not. Gabe can help with this if need be. Just tell me what the hell happened."

"I kissed him, okay?" Dean said as Gabe walked through the door. Well, that certainly explained some stuff.

Gabe came forward and asked, "Am I interrupting something?" Sam took a step back from Dean.

"No," Sam said, "Dean kissed Cas. That's why they aren't talking."

"What?" Gabe asked, shocked, "You kissed him and now you're ignoring him? What the hell, Winchester?"

"It's for the best," Dean said. Gabriel plopped next to Dean on the couch, and Sam tried so very hard not to stare as his gorgeous friend sunk into the cushions. More important things were happening. Sam pulled up a folding chair in front of the couch.

"Okay," he said, "Tell me exactly what happened in detail."

"C'mon, Sam. What the hell?" Dean protested.

Gabe sighed, "I, for one, would like to know why you're giving my friend the silent treatment if you were the one to kiss him."

Dean stayed silent. Sam tried to let his hostility drop. If Dean was going to talk, it had to be his idea.

Sam said, "Think of your resources here. You've got Cas' friend and your brother offering to help with your situation. We're probably the best qualified people to help you. We just need to know the details."

Dean took a moment and eyed Sam and Gabe. Sam could practically see Dean's mind calculating Sam's logic. He just wanted to see Dean and Cas happy, and he'd never seen them happier than when they were around each other. All Cas had told him was that Dean was avoiding him and that Cas needed to talk to him about something. Being out of the loop really sucked.

"Alright," Dean said, "If you can help me, fine. Lisa called and Cas came here, I went to the Roadhouse, Cas come to get me, I kissed him and panicked and left."

"Who's Lisa?" Gabe asked.

"Dean's ex," Sam said quickly, "What'd she call for?"

"She wanted to get back together," Dean sighed. He slouched back against the couch.

Sam asked, "And?"

"And I said no," Dean said, "It didn't work with her twice. I'm not that stupid. And there's Cas…well, I guess that doesn't matter now."

"Holy shit, Dean," Sam said at the same time Gabe said, "Of course it matters." Sam and Gabriel shared a look that not only told Sam they were both wondering about the same question but that Sam had to be the one to ask it.

Sam took a breath and asked, "Does Cas know why Lisa called?"

Dean nodded.

"Does he know he's part of the reason why you turned her down?"

He shook his head, "No. At the time, I didn't want him to know how I feel about him."

"So, you kissed him?" Gabriel asked.

"Shut up," Dean said, "I wasn't planning on it. It just sorta happened."

"You need to talk to him, Dean," Sam said, "You kissed him after you rejected Lisa. I don't want to know what he must think right now."

"I can't," Dean said. Sam heard the pain in his brother's voice when he said it. He knew Dean wouldn't be doing this if he didn't think there was a good reason. But his brother did have his moments of being just so completely wrong.

"Why the fuck not?" Gabe asked, appalled.

Dean turned to Gabe and said, "You're starting to get as obnoxious as Luci, you know that?"

"Don't you ever—" Gabe started.

Sam tapped Gabriel's foot with his own to cut him off. When Gabe looked at him, Sam met him with a small smile and a sharp gaze, the smile to let him know he was okay and the stare to tell him to shut up about it. Dean didn't know about Luci, so it was perfectly fine for him to make comments like that without knowing the full weight of it. There was no reason to tell Dean the truth about Luci, especially when this was about him and Cas. Plus, he knew Dean was only lashing out, because he wouldn't let his guard down around Gabriel. He barely let his guard down with Sam.

"Gabe," Sam said, "Can I talk to my brother alone for a minute?"

Gabe nodded, saying, "I'll be in your room."

When Sam heard Gabriel shut his door, he looked at Dean, "You know he's just concerned about Cas."

"Don't defend your boyfriend," Dean said with a teasing smile.

"He's not—" Sam said quickly, "Shut up. Why can't you talk to Cas?"

Sam was alarmed by how quickly the façade dropped. Dean looked at him, smile gone, eyes tight, and Sam realized just how scared his brother really was.

"I'm going to hurt him, Sammy," he said quietly.

"And you're not now?"

"No," Dean said, "Not like I could. If we were together, I'd hurt him just like I hurt Lisa and Ben and Cassie and everyone else I've ever cared about. And I just can't—I can't hurt Cas like that." And just as soon as they came down, Dean's walls went right back up.

"Dean, you don't know—" Sam started.

"Yeah, I do," Dean interrupted, "I need some fresh air."

Sam watched him leave and slam the door. Dean was more messed up over Lisa than he thought. He had no idea how to help his brother. Cas was probably the only person who could help him. Sam got up and joined Gabriel in his room.

"Hey," Sam said.

Gabe smiled, "Good to know it wasn't you that stormed out."

Sam sat next to Gabe on his bed.

"Dean needed some fresh air. I hope he cools off soon. It's kind of late, and he really doesn't know how to come in quietly," he said. He looked at Gabriel and was surprised to see his friend without a smile on his face.

"Is he gonna be okay out this late on his own?" Gabe asked.

Sam laughed, "Dean? Yeah, he'll be fine. If anyone tried to jump Dean, it'd be their funeral." Both Dean and Sam were both excellent fighters and were pretty good with most weaponry because of living with their father on the road for so long. This was something Sam was reluctant to share with anyone, though, even Gabriel. After a moment, Sam noticed Gabriel was unusually quiet.

"You know Dean didn't mean what he said about Luci, right?" Sam asked.

Gabe nodded, "Yeah. He doesn't know enough to mean it that way anyway."

"I still can't believe he kissed Cas," Sam muttered. Gabe vaguely nodded agreement, but he seemed a little far away.

"Hey, Gabe, are you okay?" Sam asked. Gabe didn't respond.

Sam tried, "Is there a reason you came over tonight?" It hadn't dawned on Sam until just then that Gabriel may have come over for something other than forcing Dean to talk. Gabe hesitated to reply.

"Can you tell me about your family?" Gabe asked instead.

"Why?" Sam asked.

Gabe sighed, "I would like to hear about a functional family for once."

Sam chuckled softly, "Sorry, Gabe. No dice with me. It's just me and Dean. Mom died when I was a baby. Dad and I were never close. You've met my whole family. In fact, he just walked out the door."

Gabriel nodded slowly.

"What's up?" Sam asked, thoroughly concerned now. Gabe was clearly not himself.

He sighed, "I came over, because my dad's been going at my brothers. Normally, I can handle hearing the muffled yelling, but— how honest do you want me to be right now?"

"Tell me everything," Sam said quickly. This being completely open thing had to be a two way street.

Gabe nodded, "Alright. I don't live in my own flat by choice. My dad and I haven't spoken in months. I don't really get along with my brothers either, and when they fight with Dad, they wind up retreating to my place, which means I leave for the night. That's why I came over. Didn't really have anywhere else to go."

Sam grabbed Gabe's hand gently.

"Shit, Gabe," Sam said, "I'm sorry. You're always welcome here."

Gabe smiled and nodded, "Thanks, Sam. That's—thanks."

"No problem," he said. He really wouldn't mind if Gabriel came over more often. Gabe sighed and took his hand back from Sam.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I shouldn't be bringing my little problems over here when you have serious shit to deal with."

"Don't do that. I've got some shit going on, but your issues are important. I'm sorry you have to go through that stuff," Sam said.

Gabriel leaned his head on Sam's shoulder and said tiredly, "I just want it to be over." Sam could relate. He brushed Gabe's hair behind his ear. Gabe looked up at him. He turned to face Sam, and Sam kept his hand on Gabe's jaw line. Well, if Dean could kiss Cas…

But Dean wasn't dating anyone. He dropped his gaze and his hand.

After a moment of awkward silence, Gabriel asked, "You still want to tell me about your family?"

"Why?" Sam asked, "I gave you the cliff-notes version already." Gabe lay down on Sam's bed.

"I wouldn't mind getting to know you better, and I like listening to your voice," Gabe said. That was a pretty nice answer.

Sam sighed, "Alright, what do you wanna know?"

"What were your parents like?" he asked. Sam lay back with Gabe and turned on his side to face him. There was barely any space between them. It was an entirely too intimate position, but Sam didn't move.

Sam began, "Well, like I said, I didn't know my mom. I know her name was Mary. I've seen pictures, so I know she was blonde, and Dean looks more like her than I do. He remembers her a little, definitely more than I do, but he doesn't like to talk about her. And I know she died in a fire, and it was arson."

Gabe propped himself up on his elbow and stared at Sam with wide eyes. He didn't say anything, but the fact that his mom was murdered was jarring, so Sam wasn't surprised by Gabe's reaction.

Slowly, Gabriel said, "I'm sorry, Sam." Sam smiled. He never really knew her, so she was hard to miss. He knew how much her death affected the rest of their lives, but that was his dad's fault not hers.

"It's alright," he said, "It's been eighteen years."

Gabe nodded in understanding.

"And as for my dad," Sam continued, "John was a marine in Vietnam who became a cop after the war. After Mom died, Dad turned in his badge and became a private investigator. He wanted to hunt down Mom's killer but felt restricted by his precinct. Too many rules and protocols.

"Leads went in and out of state, so Dean and I grew up on the road. Dad would leave us in a motel room for a week or two, leave us just enough money for food, and go work whatever case. It wasn't until he died seven years ago that we lived in a permanent place at all."

He stopped and looked at Gabriel who was staring at him oddly.

"What?" he asked.

"If your dad died seven years ago, you were eleven and Dean was fifteen. Holy shit. How'd you guys stay together in the system?" Gabe asked, confused as all hell.

Sam answered, "We were never in the system. Dean lied to social services and said he was eighteen when he was really fifteen so he could be my legal guardian. Considering we were able to say our paperwork went up in flames, it wasn't really that hard. Legally speaking, Dean is actually twenty-five right now even though he's only twenty-two."

"Now, I'm jealous," Gabe said, "He got to legally drink when he was only eighteen. Lucky bastard." Sam smiled at Gabe's levity. He didn't bother to include that they were homeless for a few years, in and out of shelters. Dean and Sam had a place now, so the other stuff didn't matter anymore.

After a moment, Gabe asked, "If you don't mind me asking, how'd your dad die?"

"He killed himself," Sam said quickly, "Shot himself in the head."

Not like the rest of the conversation made things awkward at all.

"Well," Gabe said, sitting up suddenly, "That's umm…crap, I'm sorry—change of subject?"

Sam nodded and sat up, too, "Any ideas for what to do about Dean and Cas?"

Gabriel smirked, probably trying to forget what Sam told him, "Not unless we trap your brother and duct tape him to a chair, and honestly, I don't know if Cas is into that sort of thing."

Sam started to roll his eyes, then stopped. That was it. Cas was the only one who could talk any sense into Dean. And Dean wouldn't talk to Cas without being forced.

Sam grabbed Gabe's face with both hands and kissed his forehead.

"Gabriel, you are a genius," Sam said, ecstatic.

Gabe blushed, "How so?"

The apartment door opened and Charlie announced, "We're back, bitches!"

Sam patted Gabriel's leg and said, "We're going to trap Dean." He got up, followed by Gabe, and met Charlie and Dorothy as they took their jackets off.

"What's up?" Dorothy asked, her sore throat evident in her voice.

Sam said, excited, "We've got work to do."